About 150 fans, twice the normal number for Washington’s first workout, watched Nationals pitchers and catchers practice Sunday in Viera, Fla. And most of them had their eyes on Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in last June’s draft from San Diego State.

General manager Mike Rizzo acknoweldged that Strasburg, 21, is being fast-tracked.

“If he’s the player we think he’s going to be, we feel he’ll have some impact in the major leagues in 2010,” Rizzo said.

Dodgers: Pitcher Vicente Padilla took part in the team’s first workout and showed no ill effects from the gunshot wound that almost ended his career.

Padilla said he was practicing with a small handgun in his native Nicaragua last Nov. 3 when the weapon jammed. He said a friend was trying to fix the problem when the gun accidentally fired. The bullet went into Padilla’s upper right thigh and came out through the back of his leg.

He offered nothing more on the incident, breaking into a grin and saying “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

Tigers: A person familiar with the negotiations says Johnny Damon has completed his physical, clearing the way for the team to finalize a one-year contract with the outfielder.

Twins: American League MVP Joe Mauer reported to camp and maintained his silence on the issue of a contract extension.

“I’m not going to get into that,” the catcher said. “It would just open up a can of worms.”

Mauer is entering the final year of his deal and the Twins are trying to get a long-term extension done before the regular season begins. He won his third AL batting crown last year for his hometown team and helped lead the Twins to the AL Central title.

Cardinals: Albert Pujols, last year’s unanimous N.L. MVP, and Matt Holliday both hit the field for the first time, two days ahead of the first full-squad workout. “We got better today, didn’t we?” cracked manager Tony La Russa.

Toxins released by the algae have poisoned dolphins, manatees, tons of fish and even contributed to the death of a 26-foot-long whale shark. The deluge of dead and rotting wildlife strewn across beaches has threatened to upturn the vital Florida tourist season